


Ties Through Time

by Zeiyuu



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28572945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeiyuu/pseuds/Zeiyuu
Summary: In the night Kagome is kidnapped by Naraku, her entire world gets turned upside down as he uses her to reach a new baleful goal with the assistance of a dark miko. Inuyasha and co will not be able to save her where she is going, will Kagome be able to rise up against Naraku once and for all before it is too late? (A slowburn)
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Sesshoumaru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. Landing Place

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello there, it's been a while since I've tried my hand at writing a story. So I'd like to preface this by saying that I am doing this for fun, so there may be a few inaccuracies in regards to the world. But I'll be doing my best to write this to completion! If things can go the way I'd like for them to, this story will have upwards of 25 chapters. And my goal for each chapter is at least 3k words.
> 
> I am currently planning on posting a chapter every Sunday and am going to work DAMN hard to make sure that happens.
> 
> In this story, there will be a number of Japanese terms for the immersion. So there will be a key at the bottom of this chapter if you need to reference to it!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters belonging to Rumiko Takahashi, however, any characters that are not Rumiko Takahashi's within this story belong to myself and Luxrosarium.
> 
> Enjoy!

Upon awakening after an unexpected sleep, Kagome came to the realization that she was no longer surrounded by her friends.

The weight of the chains around her wrists was enough to keep her in place easily enough as she jerked painfully against her bindings.

"There is no use struggling like that," A voice spoke, drawing Kagome's heavy-lidded eyes to a middle aged woman who was holding a shard of the Shikon no Tama between her index and thumb. "You'll only hurt yourself kid." The woman then moved closer to Kagome and brushed the mess of her raven hair off to the side, easily exposing the back of Kagome's neck to the cool air around them.

Kagome jerked again, though it did little to thwart her offender.

"Please," Kagome whimpered as that same shard was being shoved into the back of her neck, "Stop…!" The moment the shard was embedded within Kagome's flesh it was purified, despite this, the shock to her system caused by the foreign and powerful object caused her body to lock up a bit.

"It is truly pathetic how weak you are," The woman with dark hair mused as she returned her attention to something out of Kagome's line of sight, "I almost pity you. Here I had hoped that the reincarnation of Kikyō would present some form of entertainment for me." Her eyes then met Kagome's and in that moment, the young woman felt as though she couldn't have been much more than a bug beneath her shoe.

The pain ebbed and Kagome's body relaxed just slightly as she glared right back at the dark miko. "Whatever it is you want…it isn't worth it to help him." she tried to adjust her position on the ground, but the shackles made even such a menial task too difficult to accomplish. "I didn't know there was a miko alive that wasn't already aware of the kind of monster Naraku is. Not a single thing he does is done without the intention of having it benefit him somehow."

An uncanny grin crossed the other woman's face as she stood up from where she had been kneeling and placed a hand upon the lip of the all too familiar well. When had they gotten here?

"Is it finished?" Naraku's voice sounded from behind Kagome causing the young woman to flinch violently, she was still so disoriented by whatever spell Michiko had placed over her that she hadn't even noticed the damn near suffocating aura that belonged to the petulant hanyō.

"I told you that this wasn't going to be a quick process, Naraku-sama." Michiko replied listlessly, "Fortunately, with the aid of the jewel shards that you have accumulated in addition to this spiritual power supply right here," she nudged Kagome with the toe of her boot, "It wasn't nearly as complex a job as I'd originally thought it would be." Extending her arm out in offering, Naraku moved and held his opened hand beneath hers. 

She dropped the nearly completed jewel carelessly and he caught it with ease, turning it over in his palm. His eyes then moved down onto the grounded miko, "I'll take that as you've done what is needed in order to assure our travels success?"

What was he talking about?

"Of course, Naraku-sama. So long as the jewel shards are not removed from your necks - you will remain bound." Michiko's eyes were once more on Kagome, "I've placed a powerful barrier around both of them, so they will not be removable. Don't try it sweetie, even your predecessor wouldn't have managed to break a barrier like this one. The Shikon no Tama truly does wonders for such things."

"Is there anything else that is needed to be done?" Naraku's attention was on the well now, and for the first time Kagome noticed that the air around it appeared to be charged with a potent amount of spiritual power.

"No, the jewel will ensure your survival through the purity." The woman placed a hand upon her hip, "I am inclined to remind you that this is a one way trip, you will not be able to return."

"I didn't forget." Naraku snapped before kneeling down and using a key to unlock the shackles at Kagome's wrists. Before she could even think to bolt, he roughly wrapped his arm around her waist in a begrudgingly familiar manner. He was moving so quickly she couldn't even fully wrap her head around what was happening before he was leaping into the well with her held close.

Kagome screamed when she realized that the well was accepting Naraku.

"No!" She struggled uselessly against Naraku.

Horrifying thoughts of the hanyō wrecking havoc over the ningen within her own time flashed before her eyes. Even with all of the weapons that they had at their disposal, she was certain that Naraku could do an immense amount of damage before his inevitable take down. All of the unsuspecting, and innocent people that would lose their lives as a result of her own weakness. Her own failure to prevent this horrid thing from happening.

Tears stung her eyes as she attempted to summon up enough spiritual power to attempt and at the very least cause him some damage. Though it appeared as though she was almost completely drained of such power, that must have been what Michiko had been using her for; a damn spiritual battery. So not only hadn't she been strong enough to prevent Naraku from reaching her home, she'd basically bought him the ticket herself.

The near paralyzing realization almost had her missing the fact that they'd been falling for far too long. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern when she finally noticed that they had been falling for nearly double the amount of time that she typically would fall for whenever she would travel through time on her own or with Inuyasha.

Just before a different flavor of panic could settle itself within her breast, the ground came into view and Naraku landed with ease. He dropped Kagome onto the ground as apparently she had served her purpose.

Looking up, confused relief filled her heart when instead of the roof of her family's well-house, she saw a cloudy sky. Had much time passed since Naraku had leapt into the well? The sky had been cloudless before they'd done in.

Either way…

"It looks like your plan to terrorize the future has been dismantled," Kagome managed a spiteful laugh as she pushed herself into a slightly less demeaning position as she sat upon her knees in the damp dirt at the base of the Bone-Eater's well. "I suppose that'll teach you not to trust just any dark miko that you find crawling around."

Naraku laughed menacingly, taking Kagome by surprise.

"I never planned on reaching your time, foolish woman." An evil glint in his eye suddenly had Kagome doubting everything all over again, "I have tired of searching for every piece of this broken jewel." Naraku showed Kagome the tainted jewel needlessly, "When I found out about you and the Bone-Eater's well, it didn't take me long at all to decide that it would be better to go directly to the source. It took even less time than that to locate Michiko." He looked up at the sky, "It was easy to convince her to help, her goals were impeded by my existence within that time and as you may have already discovered by now…I'm a bit difficult to kill." A devilish grin split across his face and Kagome's heart flew into her throat at the implications.

Go to the source? He couldn't mean…

"I've heard many stories about the powerful Midorko," Naraku nodded his head and placed a hand upon his chin in contemplation, "I wonder if it would be better to simply bide my time and wait for history to write itself…or if I should take matters into my own hands." He shook his head, still grinning. "I don't know I haven't come to a decision just yet."

"No…" The prospect of Naraku with another full Shikon no Tama in addition to the large piece that he had already was too much to bear. Kagome tried once more to summon even a little bit of spiritual power, but again…it was of no use. She was so tired.

"Fortunately for you, I don't truly gain anything of worth from your demise. So consider your life a gift as a 'thank you' for getting me here."

Before Kagome could respond, Naraku was gone. He leapt out of the well, leaving her to wallow in her self deprecating thoughts.

The young woman sat there for a long time before finally beginning the process of climbing up the well…only to try climbing back down. Michiko's words from earlier had shaken her faith in the well's power.

_A one way trip. You will not be able to return._

When instead of transporting to a different time, Kagome arrived at the base of the well…tears filled her eyes and she finally allowed herself to break down. She dropped to her knees and wept. She wept for so long that when she opened her eyes and realized that she was kneeling in a small pool of water, she almost believed that she could have cried enough tears to begin filling the well.

It was then she realized that she was soaked, and that it had to have been raining for some time by then.

The numbness that she felt in her body made it difficult to work up the motivation to scale the side of the well one more time. A task made slightly more difficult now that the stone, wood, and vines were slick thanks to the seemingly so sudden downpour that fit so well with Kagome's mood.

Once she managed to make it to the top, she sat upon the lip of the well for a long few minutes before making the decision to head into the village that she knew lay at the base of the hill that the well had been built upon.

Kaede's village.

At least, this was her intention before she realized just how much smaller the village was from what she could remember so clearly.

Walking slowly, Kagome wasn't entirely sure what she could do. Not only were none of her friends around, her greatest enemy was running loose within a version of Japan that should have gone on peacefully without need for worry about a hanyō by the name of Naraku.

She could hear the sound of murmurs, and didn't have to look to know that she had drawn the attention of the locals as she walked through the near empty dirt path that ran through the entire length of the village.

Kagome only stopped walking when somebody moved directly into her path. Slowly, she looked up and locked eyes with a very tall and muscular looking man.

"What business do you have here?" His deep voice was firm as he regarded Kagome with slight suspicion etched onto his handsome, youthful face. He appeared to be slightly older than her twenty-one year old self. His caution was something she could understand. A strange looking woman walking around completely drenched from head to toe, especially in a world where yōkai existed, could easily be perceived as a potential threat. She didn't dream of holding the wariness against the stranger.

"I don't know," she finally replied, brushing some wet hair behind her ear as her eyes lowered to the puddle between them. She watched as it rippled and reacted to each droplet of water that found its way into the small pool of water. "Is there a miko here by any chance?" She asked, a quiet hope touching her tone as she once more looked at his face.

After a few moments of eyeing her, the man shifted his position so that he was now holding the umbrella he carried above her head as well. "There is one here for now. I will bring you to her."

The news was a small relief, and Kagome began to walk when he started to move. The hut wasn't all too far from where he'd stopped her, thankfully. Suddenly she wasn't entirely sure just how much longer she would be able to walk. All of her limbs felt so heavy despite the shackles having been removed earlier. Perhaps it was the weight of her sins? A deep sigh escaped her lips as the man moved to push aside the straw door that they had stopped in front of.

"Naomi-sama," He called, despite already having the young woman's attention. Her long sapphire hair glowed softly in the firelight, she wore the traditional miko garb and Kagome's relief increased fractionally in response to the sight. It appeared as though Naomi had been in the process of making an arrow. The man at Kagome's side continued, "This woman requests the presence of a miko. Do you have time?"

"Of course, thank you, Masanori-kun." She gestured for the two to enter, and so with the gentle urging from Masanori, Kagome walked into the hut. "You must be freezing, please sit."

Kagome nodded her head and began to do as she was asked. When she staggered and nearly toppled over as a result of her exhaustion, she felt a hand grab her arm. Masanori helped Kagome down the rest of the way. The heat of the flames was almost painful against her near frozen flesh, though she didn't complain as she held her hands ever closer to the fire.

There was a pregnant silence before the miko set aside the partial arrow and properly placed her hands palm down atop her lap, "May I ask your name?" She inquired gently. "You do not appear to be from this area."

"My name is Kagome."

"Would you like some tea, Kagome-san?"

"Yes please."

In response to the young woman's confirmation, Masanori moved, grabbing the kettle from where it was set beside the fire and moved towards where a wooden bucket of water was. Naomi thanked the man before her concerned eyes were upon Kagome once more.

"How can I help you?" She gently prodded after another moment of silence while Kagome watched the large man's actions as he proceeded to use the wooden ladle to scoop water into the kettle.

"There is a very dangerous and very powerful yōkai in the area." This drew the attention of Masanori as Naomi's hands tightened into fists. "I don't know what to do or where to go with this information, but something must be done about him as soon as possible."

The half full kettle was then hung on a rod and promptly placed above the fire.

"Did you see him?" Naomi asked, eyebrows furrowing, "I briefly felt a powerful presence nearby, it is why Masanori was out patrolling. But that aura vanished shortly after it had appeared, I don't believe the threat you speak of is in the area any longer."

Kagome nodded her head, "I know but—" she cut herself off before shaking her head, "He needs to be hunted down and destroyed before he can do any damage."

"I see…" One of Naomi's hands moved to her chin, "Have you thought of seeking out a taijiya to help you?" She looked to Masanori who seemed interested in the conversation before looking back at Kagome, "Currently Masanori-kun and myself are the only ones in the village that could fight. However even then, we aren't equipped to take on a powerful foe. Right now we are merely traveling from village to village specifically to help treat the sick and the injured.

Ah, so this wasn't even their home. Kagome understood.

"I haven't, you are the first I've found that may be able to help."

Naomi nodded, "I see. Well, we will be leaving here tomorrow morning. Our plans lead us in the direction of a nearby village that houses taijiya, would you like to join us?"

It wasn't what she had hoped for, though it was far better than what she'd imagined. A small smile touched Kagome's lips as she nodded her head in a small bow. "Thank you very much for the offer, Shall I meet you here at dawn?"

"That would be perfect, I believe there is an empty hut that you may use to sleep in until then." Her eyes moved to Masanori for confirmation, when he nodded she smiled, "You can enjoy your tea here for as long as you would like. There are still a few things I have to get done for the day so I will be in and out, but I do not mind the company."

Almost on cue, the kettle began to whistle and Naomi stood up to pour the tea into a small clay cup. Kagome thanked the other young woman before she and Masanori excused themselves from the hut. Kagome was once more left alone with her own thoughts.

She was extremely fortunate that such a kind miko happened to be in the area, though it did little to ease the extent of her concerns. The fact of the matter was that Naraku was out there, and quite possibly already had taken a life or two.

Was this even truly the point in time that he had been aiming for? What if they had shot far past Midoriko's birth? There was a decent chance that this was the case, although Michiko's confidence in herself had been palpable.

Kagome felt sick.

Even still, she sipped the tea and winced slightly at the bitter flavor.

She supposed that the best she could do was hold out until the next day and pray that they would find somebody…anybody that could help with the Naraku situation she'd found herself in.

More than ever, she wished that Inuyasha or any of the others were there with her. Never before had her friends felt so far out of reach. They were probably worried sick, surely by now they would have found out that she'd been taken in the night.

Even Kikyō would likely be fretting right about then.

Ever since the undead miko had joined the party, tensions had lessened between the two miko.

No longer did Inuyasha need to sneak off to visit his first love, this helped with the relationship between both the hanyō and Kagome as well.

The moment Kikyō began travelling with them, Kagome had known that the war over Inuyasha's affections was won by the more experienced miko. Which was fine, Kagome had long since accepted the fact that Inuyasha just couldn't work up the same emotions that he bore for the other woman. It was when she'd accepted this that it had become easier to move on and simply be Inuyasha's friend, which honestly was more than enough.

She still loved him, and she knew that he loved her…it was a platonic love that warmed her heart. It was a friendship that she valued deeply and right then, all she wanted was for the hot-headed man to break into the hut with guns blazing.

That certainly wouldn't happen.

Fighting the tears that threatened her, Kagome instead took another sip of tea before releasing a sigh.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Heavy Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I know I said I was going to upload every Sunday...though I figured it might be good to go ahead and put up the second chapter a bit early so as to (hopefully) build a reader base a little bit more rapidly.
> 
> So surprise! Enjoy this second chapter~

“You are a miko as well, right Kagome-san?” 

The question surprised the raven haired young woman and she turned her head to look at Naomi, who was walking just a few paces from her. There was a small smile upon the violet eyed woman’s lips. “Yesterday I had an inkling, although your energy had been so low it was difficult for me to know for sure. This morning, I can definitely sense your spiritual power. Even after a full night's rest it seems as though you may not be up to your full potential, which is impressive considering how much power I can feel coming from you.” 

Of course Naomi would have picked up on such a thing, Kagome didn’t know why she had been so surprised. “Yeah, yesterday was rough for me. I do feel better today though, thank you again for all of your hospitality. I wasn’t expecting a warm meal this morning.” A bowl of rice hadn’t ever looked so good, who knew stressing out so much could work up such an appetite. 

“No need to thank, I am always happy to help wherever I can. I am interested in learning more about this yōkai you were talking about yesterday. Masanori and I were talking last night, we are expected to meet up with a few others later on today at that village I was mentioning before. If everybody we are expecting shows up, we should be able to help you in searching for this yōkai. While we are there, it may be good to recruit a taijiya or two just to be on the safe side. It…has been a very long time since I’ve felt a presence as strong as the one from last night, and it had been from a fair distance.” Her smile fell as her eyes moved forward. “A being like that should not be allowed to roam free for long, this is an especially populated area.”

Kagome listened quietly as Naomi spoke, she wasn’t entirely sure what all she could say about Naraku without giving away the truth about where they had come from. Kagome needed to appear as sane as physically possible until she was able to get to know these people a bit better. They seemed kind, though she didn’t truly know a thing about them, and truthfully if they ran away when she confessed that she was from the future…she couldn’t even blame them. 

Before she began time-traveling herself almost six years ago, she never would have believed it if somebody walked up to her and said that they were from the future.

“He is a spider yōkai,” Kagome started, “Well, technically he is a hanyō that had once been a ningen. Where I am from he took immense pleasure in torturing as many people as possible, both physically and mentally.” She lowered her eyes to the ground in front of her, not wanting to trip as they were beginning to walk on slightly uneven ground now. “I suppose you could say that I followed him here, and now my purpose must be to eliminate him before he can cause too much damage.”

Kagome couldn’t see it from her vantage point, but Naomi’s face had twisted in response to some of the odd wording that the other miko had used. 

“I am impressed that a hanyō can give off such a powerful impression, I don’t believe I’ve ever met a hanyō that was truly evil. Although…I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a ningen turned yōkai either. That is fascinating…”

Kagome nodded her head, “He isn’t your average kind of yōkai, that is for sure. It would be foolish to underestimate him based on the fact that he isn’t a full-fledged yōkai, I’d go so far as to say that Naraku’s power is among that of a daiyōkai.” 

“Naraku.” Masanori said, the first thing out of his mouth since they set out earlier that morning. “A hanyō with the power of a full-fledged yōkai, I’m certain the others will have interest in aiding us with the dispatch of a being that has caused so much sorrow.” 

Naomi nodded her head in agreement, “We will be arriving in that village within the hour I’d say, hopefully the others will already be there so we can have an answer for you right away Kagome-san. We just have to be especially careful while we are separated from the others.”

Quickly waving her hands, Kagome shook her head. “Oh don’t worry about it! I definitely understand.” She still felt guilty for even dragging these two into her little dilemma, especially considering the fact that she couldn’t tell them the entire story. “I should also mention that Naraku has his hands on an enchanted item that increases his strength multiple times over, it is part of the reason why he has so much power despite being only a hanyō.”

Masanori and Naomi shared a glance, “An enchanted item with the ability to strengthen a yōkai to such an extent? I wonder why I would not have been made aware of such a thing, I try to stay on top of that kind of information as much as possible.”

“Oh—” Kagome hesitated but quickly continued with a nervous laugh, “It’s rather new I believe.” Looking over her shoulder, Kagome missed another shared look between her two new comrades. 

“I see, well all the same…it sounds as though this hanyō, Naraku, must be dealt with immediately. The item that you are referring to should perhaps be sealed away—” Naomi cut herself off as an inhuman screech filled the air, and just as quickly Masanori was reaching for the hilt of his odachi as Naomi was already notching an arrow onto her bowstring.

Whatever it was, it was close. Close enough for the hairs on the back of Kagome’s neck to stand on end as she suddenly felt entirely naked without a bow of her own, she should have seen if it was possible to get one while they were back in Edo. 

Silence fell over them as the entire forest it seemed held a collective breath in anticipation. 

Though it needn’t have been for long, because within moments a massive yōkai was barreling in their direction, it’s aim seemed to be Kagome specifically as it reached for her with it’s large paw-like hands. A greedy look crossed it’s expressive countenance. 

Yelping, Kagome was turning to move out of the way. However, already the beast’s hands were getting cut off as Masanori was quick to respond to the threat. The yōkai screamed and it’s blood spewed in rivers while the beast flailed. Truthfully, the entire ordeal had been such a weak attempt at an attack, it would have been comical were it not for the fact that Kagome appeared as though she had taken a shower in blood. 

Masanori made quick work of dispatching the yōkai. Naomi offered a quiet prayer for the forsaken soul before she turned to look upon Kagome with a sympathetic gaze, “I have a spare outfit that I can loan you, we should stop so that you can bathe. There is no telling what kind of disease that may be carried by yōkai blood…”

“There is a hot spring near here,” Masanori offered as he pulled out a cloth from somewhere within his trousers and began the process of wiping his blade clean, “we can stop there. I will stand guard if you would like to bathe as well Naomi-sama.” 

“That sounds like it would be perfect, please lead the way Masanori-kun.” When the group began to walk again, Kagome took a second to down at herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been made to be so filthy as the result of one fight, her stomach flipped as she was beginning down a dangerous path that involved thinking about her friends. Instead, she focused on Masanori’s back as they all walked. He wore armor that appeared to be perfectly custom designed for his large body, the metalwork was filled with intricate details that held her interest the entire walk to the spring. The craftsmanship was quite impressive.

“I will be right over here.” Masanori stated as he turned his back to the spring. 

“Thank you Masanori-kun!” Naomi called as she and Kagome began to walk towards the spring that was actually quite large. The two would most certainly be able to bathe far enough away from one another so the filth upon Kagome’s body wouldn’t have to get near Naomi. 

Stripping down, Kagome frowned as she had to peel most of her clothing off of her body. It was impressive, and disgusting, just how quickly the blood had begun to dry. Once all of the material was in a pile at her feet, the young woman eagerly threw herself into the hot water. She sank beneath the water’s surface and began to aggressively scrub her scalp, immediately she could feel much of the tension leaving her body. When she resurfaced, she promptly began to scrub her arms and legs. “This is just what I needed!” Kagome called to Naomi, who had only just stepped into the heated waters herself. “I can’t remember the last time I had the chance to bathe in a hot spring.” 

The last several times she had to settle for a very chilly pond or river. 

“It certainly soothes any aches and pains from a long day's journey, that is for sure.” Naomi replied.

Moving back towards the edge of the pool, Kagome sat on a rock that was at a perfect distance from the surface of the water. Kagome could lean her head back and look up at the sky so that she could allow herself to relax for a few minutes. Through the break in the trees she could see that the sun was shining, which was a small bout of fortune as traveling in feudal Japan during a rain storm was never an experience that could be considered ‘pleasant’. Especially during the cooler months. 

As much as she would have liked to remain there for the rest of the day, the sound of Naomi getting out of the water not too long after they’d gotten in was the push she needed to get herself out as well. Wringing out her hair, Kagome then proceeded to try and pat off as much excess liquid as possible before accepting the familiar clothing that Naomi was offering her. It was just a little bit different from the miko garb that she had donned during Inuyasha’s time, the way the sleves attached to the rest of the white kosode.

It wore just the same. 

“This outfit suits you well!” Naomi complimented when she too was dressed once more.

“Thank you, it definitely feels a lot warmer than what I’d been wearing before.” Kagome replied as they began to walk back towards where their third companion was. 

“I must say, your previous clothing had been…interesting. I don’t believe they will be salvagable. If you’d like, I have many of this same outfit back home, you may have this one.” Naomi offered kindly and Kagome felt like a broken record as she once more thanked the other miko. 

In no time, the trio was on their way again. Their destination was not far, and they managed to make it to the village with only two other barely notable encounters. Both of which ended with a purified arrow, courtesy of Naomi.

This village was quite large in comparison to Edo, there were several people outside as they went about their daily business. The trio had managed to make it all the way to the village before midday.

While she certainly didn’t stand out more whenever she wore official miko garb…Kagome felt as though the type of glances and gazes she received were not the ones that she deserved. While she may have the power of a miko, she certainly didn’t know enough to deserve the title or adoration that so many of them received. 

Not yet anyway.

There had been a plan set in place for Kagome to officially begin and receive proper training from Kikyō. They hadn’t had the chance to speak on the matter too much before she’d been taken by Naraku, Kikyō joining their group was still so fresh.

The young woman had been so excited to finally get to know Kikyō for the kind and compassionate person that she had heard so much about both from Kaede…and from Inuyasha as well. 

“Naomi-sama, Masanori!” The unfamiliar voice that pulled Kagome from her thoughts belonged to a young man with long dark hair pulled that he had pulled into a ponytail that fell loosely over his shoulder. The most interesting aspect of his physical appearance were the scars that could be seen near his mouth. If Kagome didn’t know any better, she would have thought that someone may have attempted to extend the young man’s smile in a somewhat tortuous way. At least…she certainly hoped this wasn’t the case. 

“Seiya-kun, I am glad that you’re here already. Is Aina-chan nearby?” Naomi greeted as Seiya closed the distance between them with an easy jog.

“I’m right here.” A voice this time belonging to a woman came from behind the trio, and Kagome turned her head to see a young woman who had her long white hair tied back in a low ponytail. It appeared as though Masanori, Aina, and Seiya all had their armor crafted by the same blacksmith as they all seemed to be very much matching in style. “I was trying to catch up with you guys.” Aina paused as she regarded Kagome, “Who is this?” 

“This is Kagome-san, we met just yesterday. She is a miko.” Naomi was happy to make the introduction as she gestured to Kagome with a smile, “She expressed to me that she is in dire need of assistance that involves a yōkai by the name Naraku.” The bluenette opened her mouth to continue, though upon a quick glance around she decided that the middle of the road was not an ideal spot for this particular discussion. Gesturing for the others to follow, Naomi led everybody off to the side so that they could continue their conversation without having to worry about interrupting anybody else.

“I don't believe that there is time to be hunting yōkai…” Aina was the first to speak in response to what Naomi had said, “There are a few other places that we need to get you to before we are required back at the temple. Perhaps a taijiya would be better for something like what you are describing?” 

Naomi shook her head, “From the sounds of it, this yōkai is very powerful. While I believe it would be good to enlist the help of a taijiya or two, I don’t think this is something we should only entrust others to carry out.” Her violet eyes then turned onto Kagome who had begun to fidget with her sleeve while they spoke, “Would you mind going over what you’ve discussed with us once already please Kagome-san?” 

“Oh! Yes, of course…” Kagome then proceeded to repeat her words from earlier, attempting to only go over all of the exact points that she already had with Naomi and Masanori.

“Interesting…” The white haired woman was frowning as she held a finger to her chin, a look of contemplation upon her visage.

“That sounds pretty bad Aina,” Seiya said with slightly furrowed eyebrows, “I feel like this may be something Eiichi-sama would want for us to look into.”

Aina sighed as her hands dropped to her sides and she nodded her head in agreement, “You’re right, I will have to send word to him to make sure that he is aware of what is going on in case we are delayed in returning to the temple as a result of this detour.” 

While the group began to talk about logistics that involved their prior plans, Kagome allowed herself to look around.

Despite the fact that she had to be, at the very least, one or two hundred years even further in the past, not a whole lot appeared to be different in comparison to the feudal era that she had known and held so dear to heart. Many of the villagers wore the same types of clothing and even donned the same hair styles. 

That part of all of this, at the least, was somewhat refreshing. A constant that she hadn’t realized that she’d needed. 

“We will go and set about recruiting the taijiya,” Aina spoke, drawing Kagome’s attention back to the others. “We will find you, so feel free to go and get something to eat. I’m sure you must be hungry, there is a dumpling food stand over in that direction that Seiya and myself already visited upon arrival.” The woman pointed before nodding to Seiya, a gesture for them to start moving. “See you soon.” Kagome watched as the two new arrivals left almost as quickly as they had come.. 

She couldn’t help but wonder what kinds of yōkai taijiya would reside in this village. 

Thoughts of Sango and her brother flitted through her mind. Would any of the taijiya of this time be related to her future friends? The prospect was almost mind numbing. 

“Let’s go and get some dumplings, I don’t know about you guys…but I am quite hungry.” Naomi spoke cheerfully.

Kagome and Masanori both nodded in agreement, and the three moved along to do just that. It didn’t take long to receive their orders, and Masanori paid for their snacks without so much as a word. They easily enough found a place to sit and enjoy their little meal. While Kagome chewed, she watched as a few of the village children ran around gleefully. It never failed to touch her heart to see such innocence in the midst of a potential catastrophe. 

She needed to do everything she possibly could to ensure that Naraku didn’t get what he wanted. 

While she along with all of her friends had been doing just that for years now, a lot more seemed to be at stake now that she was even farther in the past. Not only could he devastate the lives of these innocent people, but as a result…all of her friends' future lives could be messed up. Something could happen that would prevent one or more of them from even being born if things went especially poorly. 

When it came down to time-travel, Kagome at one time preferred to not think too much about it. Although now, that mindset was becoming more and more difficult to maintain. 

“You seem as though you have been deeply impacted by this Naraku character, Kagome-san.” Naomi said gently, drawing a sigh from Kagome as a result. “I understand what it is to lose loved ones at the hands of a yōkai.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Kagome honestly replied, meeting Naomi’s eyes for the first time the entire day. “I’m also sorry for being so…difficult, I wish I could explain to you everything that has happened Naomi-chan. There is just a lot of history when it comes down to Naraku. A lot of things I am not entirely sure how to explain to you. My life isn’t the only one that has been deeply impacted by him, the lives of my friends…even some of my enemies. I wouldn’t wish Naraku upon my worst enemy.” Except maybe Naraku himself, although that wasn’t worth noting. 

“We will do everything we can to help you. I’ve heard that the taijiya of this village are quite strong, a family even. While it is rare to catch more than one here at any given time, I have faith that whoever we wind up recruiting for this job will be perfectly capable of assisting us with the extermination of Naraku.”

“I’ve heard there are actually two of them here today in fact.” A new voice spoke and Kagome along with Naomi and Masanori looked up with interest. Before them stood Aina, Seiya, and two new faces. The owner of the voice appeared to be a young woman with strawberry-brunette hair and shocking green eyes. Her hand was upon her hip as she beamed at them. “My name is Aya, and this is my brother Arinaga.” With her free hand, she gestured to the man at her side who had length black hair. 

Arinaga raised his hand in greeting. 

The sun’s late afternoon golden rays were almost blinding as Kagome peered up at these two who looked as though they were haloed in that very light. 

Aya’s other hand dropped to her hip as she nodded her head, “We accept your yōkai extermination request.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Chapter 2~ Please remember to leave a review if you like this story. It will be a lot more difficult for me to drop it if I know that others are picking up what I'm laying down, ya feel?


	3. Strong Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made it to my first officially scheduled post! For some reason it is very difficult for me to wait to post another chapter when I already have it ready, though I know this is better in the long run so that the story doesn't die out early or anything. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The taijiya of this time appeared just as Sango and Kohaku had. 

Aya’s armor was a marine blue, while Arinaga’s was golden. Both appeared to have used materials from a scaled yōkai as it lacked the familiar smoothness that she’d seen on both of her own taijiya. From the looks of it, most other aspects of the armor were the same. 

No need to change what wasn’t broken she supposed. 

“We have only just returned from another job a short while ago, so we will need to procure a few things,” Arinaga was saying as he glanced at his sister, “However, we should be ready to leave within the hour.” Aya nodded and he continued, “Once we are prepared, we will wait near the village gates for you, if you aren’t already there.”

Kagome smiled, “That sounds great, we will see the two of you then!” 

With a nod, the two began to walk away. 

Before they could get more than a few steps, Kagome realized something and called for their attention once more. 

“I was wondering if you perhaps have a spare weapon that I could borrow while we are traveling together? My bow broke recently and I would love to be of some use to everybody rather than a complete dead weight.” 

“That shouldn’t be a problem, I believe we have a spare bow and a quiver full of arrows we can let you use.” 

“Oh that would be perfect, thank you so much!” 

Aya nodded, and the taijiya were walking away again.

“It is lucky that we got to them before they could receive word on another job,” Aina commented, watching them as they left her line of vision, “As I was speaking to Aya-san about it, another person had approached Arinaga-san. The only reason we got them was because our report sounded like more of an immediate threat, although we very well could have missed the chance to recruit if the timing was a little bit different.”

“That is fortunate indeed.” Masanori replied quietly, “It would have been a shame if we had lost this opportunity.”

While she believed that all of this was being put quite lightly, Kagome chose not to voice her thoughts as she looked down at the few remaining dumplings that she had left. Suddenly she wasn’t hungry any longer, though she didn’t want to appear ungrateful for the food that Masanori had paid for. So swallowing the bile that had begun to make itself known at the back of her throat, Kagome picked up one of the dumplings with the little wooden skewer they’d been provided and stuck it into her mouth. 

“So, Kagome-san…allow me to officially introduce you.” Naomi cleared her throat after having just finished eating herself, first she gestured to Seiya who was the closest to Kagome. When he noticed their miko was going to be referring to him, his posture straightened as he turned to face Kagome fully with a smile. “This is Seiya.” 

“It is a pleasure, Kagome-sama.” Seiya bowed deeply and Kagome immediately felt a bit uncomfortable by the formality, she held her tongue despite this. Keeping in mind where and when she was. 

“And this is Aina,” Naomi then gestured to the white haired woman who was now regarding Kagome with that level, calculating attention that she’d gotten a glimpse of earlier. “They are both shrine guardians, much like Masanori. When a miko must leave for missionary work, they act as bodyguards for that miko, it has become a fairly dangerous world of late. So this is a procedure that has been set by our home shrine.” She smiled, “Seiya and Aina were both away on another mission when Masanori and myself had to go, which is why we were all going to meet up before heading north.” 

“That’s interesting, where I’m from I don’t believe it is traditional for miko to travel with bodyguards.” At the very least, she didn’t feel she’d heard any stories of such. 

“It is a precautionary measure that was set by our shrine head.” Masanori offered, “In our travels we have met many miko who travel on their own.”

“That makes sense, it is nice that your shrine head cares so much about the safety of your miko.” Kagome had a lot of questions, though figured it would be best to pace herself for the time being. Already she could feel that they had their suspicions of her, she certainly didn’t want to go pushing any buttons that would lead to irreversible damage. Especially when she was feeling so insecure and out of place in this time. 

From the little of what she had seen, it appeared as though Naomi was a fairly capable young miko. At the very least more capable than Kagome was when it came down to energy control and usage. 

Perhaps the further back in time you went, the more of a threat the yōkai were. 

“Oh, I just remembered. There are a few things that we need to stock up on as well while we are here, will you be okay on your own in the meantime Kagome-san?” Naomi asked as she stood up from where she’d been seated at the raven haired girl’s side. 

Shaking her head, Kagome offered a smile. “I will be fine, so I’ll see you soon.” 

Naomi nodded with a short wave and the other three walked along with her towards where Kagome could only assume the shops could be found within the little town.

For a few minutes, Kagome just sat there while she finished eating. Listening to the sounds of the village, watching the children as they continued to play. When she closed her eyes, she could picture what her friends would be saying right in that moment. Inuyasha would be going on about how they needed to hurry and get started on locating the next jewel shard. Miroku would be receiving a slap as a result of his wandering hands. 

She was sure that Shippō and Kirara would be playing nearby as it was a nice day and the ground wasn’t muddy.

Kikyō would be listening quietly, just as Kagome was doing now. 

When her eyes opened, Kagome sighed softly. It appeared as though there were more similarities to herself and her former incarnation than she had originally been led to believe.

Standing up, Kagome returned to the dumpling stall to see if the man behind the counter would accept her trash, to which he did. She thanked him with a smile before turning to head towards where the taijiya had mentioned they would be going to meet with them later on. 

Naturally, she was the first to arrive as there wasn’t anything she could think to do in the meantime. She didn’t have any money to go shopping, and she also just didn’t want to risk Aya or Arinaga losing interest if she or the others were slow to arrive at the village’s entrance. 

She wasn’t standing there for terribly long before her attention was caught easily enough by a pair that was approaching. Both of the taijiya had changed into more travel-friendly garb. Aya wore a pale-blue kosode that had a white diamond-shaped pattern upon it. Her mo-bakama was white with a deep-blue fan pattern. The pole arm she carried had a blade that was clearly fashioned using the bone of a yōkai.

Arinaga wore a matching black kosode and hakama, there were a few swirls of blue across his kosode. Atop his kosode, he wore a white haori that shared the fan blue pattern that his sister donned. He had a sheathed nagamaki at his hip.

Both siblings had matching furoshiki with which they were more than likely carrying their taijiya supplies.

What drew the young miko’s attention the most, in addition to the fact that Arinaga had a bow and quiver slung over one of his shoulders, was a familiar little kitten that clung to Aya’s shoulder. 

Kagome’s eyes lit up and she quickly approached the two, causing Arinaga to tense and his hand to twitch toward his sword’s hilt. “What a cute kitten! Does she have a name?” The focus of Kagome’s interest blinked up calmly at her with those familiar red eyes.

“O-oh,” Aya appeared to struggle for a minute as she stopped walking and looked at the kitten, then returned her attention to Kagome. “Her name is Kirara, she is a nekomata. A yōkai.” At this announcement, Aya turned her body a bit as if to protect Kirara from the oh so dangerous miko. “She saved the two of us when we were young and has been a part of the family ever since, so she always joins when we leave on a mission.”

“She looks like an absolute sweet-heart,” Kagome replied with a smile, “may I pet her?” 

Aya hesitated, “You aren’t going to try and purify her?” While it was a question, it was voiced more like a befuddled statement. 

“No way! I love cats, I actually know a nekomata just like this one that is back home.” 

This seemed to take both siblings by surprise, “Oh, that’s amazing! We’ve only ever come across Kirara, the nekomata seems to be fairly elusive. Which makes sense, many people believe them to be bad luck.” Arinaga’s hand was returning to his side, and Aya’s attention was on Kirara once more as she smiled at the little cat yōkai, “You have been nothing but good luck though, right Kirara?” A small and familiar ‘mew’ followed the taijiya’s words and Kagome’s heart did a flip at the sheer familiarity of the scene. 

While the green-eyed woman’s visage didn’t necessarily scream ‘Sango’, it was difficult not to think of her friend right then. 

“Oh, my name is Kagome by the way, I realize that I didn’t have the chance to properly introduce myself earlier.” She placed a hand to her chest as she looked between the faces of Aya and Arinaga, “Do you often go on back to back jobs? I know that you guys were saying that you’d only just returned home.”

Aya turned herself so that Kirara was slightly closer to Kagome, now allowing the other girl to reach out and scratch behind the cat’s ears after having deemed the young miko not to be a threat to the tiny yōkai. 

“It isn’t an uncommon occurrence,” Arinaga was the one to respond to the inquiry as he unslung the bow and quiver from his shoulder, “We have four other siblings, whenever we’re all away as we have been lately, it is an especially frequent occurrence for whoever gets back first to wind up with another job. Yōkai don’t hunt themselves, so the jobs do tend to wind up stacking. It is during these cooler months in particular that tend to be among the busiest in this region.” He offered the weapon to Kagome, which she was happy to accept with a grateful ‘thank you’.

Immediately relief washed over her. While she was no Kikyō when it came to her marksmanship, she felt a lot better knowing that she would be able to channel her spiritual powers in a familiar way if push came to shove. 

“I see, that sounds like it can get kind of exhausting. The work you do is incredibly appreciated, though certainly be sure to rest. You’re only human, so you must make sure not to wear yourselves too thin.”

Aya laughed at this as she placed both hands upon her hips, “No need to worry about us Kagome-sama. We’ve been doing this since we were quite young, we’re very familiar with our bodies' limitations.” 

Kagome’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, “Oh of course you do! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything or suggest that you didn’t, I just…” Kagome’s hand returned to her side as she looked from Kirara to the face of the young taijiya, “I suppose I just wish we could live in a world where there was more peace than death.” She couldn’t help but to worry about all of the young men and women that die every day because of situations precisely like the one she was putting these two in.

One would think that after nearly six years within the feudal era would have helped her to better accept these things. 

“Oh my, so sorry for making you wait!” The voice of Naomi easily enough pulled the attention of Kagome, as well as the taijiya that had been staring at her with somewhat perplexed expressions. 

There she went again it seemed, saying odd things that didn’t necessarily fit in the time that she was currently residing in. 

“It’s no problem,” Arinaga responded, “It appears your numbers have decreased.”

Kagome blinked as she looked over and noticed that the woman named Aina was no longer with Naomi and the others.

“Aina-chan said that there are a few things that she needed to see to before she could join us,” the miko’s eyebrows furrowed as she glanced up to Masanori, “It seemed rather sudden, are we sure that she will be okay heading back to the shrine on her own?” 

The tall man nodded his head, “Aina is an extremely capable fighter, she will be fine.” 

When Naomi didn’t seem convinced, Seiya placed a hand upon the bluenette’s shoulder. “Aina is an expert at avoiding a fight if she can, so she probably will be able to make it all the way back to the shrine without even one encounter.” 

The miko could only sigh before returning her attention onto the task that was before them, “Anyway…should we first return to the village where the yōkai was last felt?” 

“That is the best way to go about this.” Aya responded with a nod, “It is important to get a feel for the area that a yōkai has visited, there is almost always a reason for a high level yōkai to be so close to a ningen village. Typically, the more intelligent…the more they tend to avoid ningen.”

Unexpectedly, Sesshōmaru’s face flashed into mind at this piece of yōkai trivia. She recalled little Rin that had been so keen on following the lord of the West. He certainly hadn’t made very much of an effort to avoid her.

She wondered briefly how Rin was doing. Surely, she was still following her lord around like a loyal puppy. 

“Well then, is everybody ready?” Arinaga asked, and once he had confirmation, the party began to move in the direction that they had come from not all that long ago. There was still quite a bit of sunlight left in the day, so Kagome wouldn’t be surprised if they wound up walking until night fell. 

Which was precisely what wound up happening.. 

Although, it wasn’t until after a particular encounter with a yōkai that the party decided that it was a good time to call it a night. Fortunately, there were no severe injuries to worry about. Masanori had gotten a bit banged up, though upon closer inspection none of his injuries were enough to cause concern. Despite this, Naomi had been quick to treat the man while Seiya scouted around the area to locate a good place to settle down for the night. 

Apparently, there was a clearing not too far from where they’d been attacked by the boar yōkai. It was only a few minutes walk from where they’d paused while Naomi patched Masanori up. 

The sound of crickets and owls was reassuring as Kagome sat down not far from where Aya had placed a few branches that she had grabbed during their short walk. 

“We can’t be far now,” Naomi spoke, kneeling down beside Kagome. Watching with mild interest as Masanori set down a few branches that he had grabbed as well, “I would go so far as to say that we could arrive after perhaps another hour or so of walking. It is nice that your village is so close to Edo, hopefully it will make your trip back home a short one.” The miko paused, “Well, presuming that the hanyō hasn’t gone too terribly far from where we had sensed him before anyway.”

There were a few clicking noises while Aya struck flint and steel together, the sparks caught upon the kindling that had been set and with a few blows…a small fire was born. 

“I doubt it will be that easy, it rarely ever is. We once had to track a yōkai from one end of Japan to the other during a hunt, these beasts will do just about anything to ensure that they live out the entirety of their long lives.” Arinaga frowned as he started into the flames, “Based on how you were describing it, I wouldn’t be surprised if that turns out to be the case for this job.”

Aya clicked her tongue, “There is no way to know for sure how a hunt will turn out until well enough after we’ve begun, so let’s not think too much about it until we are able to get a look at the scene in the morning hm?” 

Arinaga relented.

“I will take the first watch.” Masanori suddenly announced, standing from where he had been seated at Naomi’s side.

“Wake me after a few hours and I can take the second.” Arinaga replied, “Aya, last watch?” His sister nodded and the plans for sleep were cemented. Everybody spread out just enough so as to get themselves comfortable in any means necessary. 

Kagome wound up on her back with a rolled up cloth that Naomi had allowed the raven-haired young woman to borrow for the time being. Her azure eyes were upon the blanket of stars above them and for a moment she was able to appreciate their beauty. 

While she wasn’t in the most ideal of situations, it was impossible to deny that thus far…things have gone fairly smoothly. Part of her was worried that this could only mean that trouble was brewing as a result of all of her good fortune, although a larger part of her wanted to believe that all of her good deeds up until that moment had built up to this good luck. 

That night, she chose to be an optimist as she closed her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think so far! I put a lot of time and effort into this, and I would feel a lot more motivation if I had a few comments under my belt.
> 
> Please understand that my motivation can definitely be impacted by the lack of comments. If you like what you are reading and would like some more, take a second to leave a comment! Thank you again for reading!


	4. Damsel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please remember to review if you like this story so I can continue to feel motivated!

That morning, Kagome awoke to the distant sound of battle. 

When her eyes opened, she nearly jumped out of her socks once she noticed that Seiya had been watching her from the other side of the long extinguished campfire with a curious expression upon his face. 

“What is going on?” Kagome asked as she sat up and looked around. 

“There was a small pack of yōkai that Aya-san came across a short time ago, her brother and Masanori-kun have already gone on to assist her.” Naomi replied, “Would you like breakfast? Seiya-kun found a few bountiful berry bushes on the edge of camp.”

“Maybe I should go help…” Already, Kagome was already reaching for the bow that was only a few feet from where she had been laying down. 

“No need for that, they have everything under control.” Seiya stood up, “I had gone with Masa and the other taijiya, it didn’t look like they needed even Masa’s assistance. I came back to make sure that the two of you would have protection just in case anything else were to come by.”

“Oh! Well in that case, I’d love some berries please.”

Naomi nodded her head and walked over with a small canvas bag that had been filled nearly to the brim with red and blue berries. Kagome accepted the bag with a still slightly groggy ‘thank you’ before she promptly popped a few berries into her mouth. They were a bit on the tart side as it appeared the berries weren’t completely ripened, although Kagome didn’t mind. 

“Apparently there were a few incidents in the night.” Naomi’s eyebrows furrowed as she clasped her hands behind her back and glanced toward where the sounds of battle were beginning to wane. “It seems the yōkai of this area are particularly irritable of late.”

“Yeah, that’s putting it lightly.” 

Aya’s voice easily drew the attention of the three within the camp. 

“Were there any injuries?” Kagome asked, standing up.

“A few minor cuts and bruises is all, nothing major enough to warrant serious concern.” Arinaga replied, “It was certainly a decent warmup for the morning though, is everybody prepared to head out?” 

“I’m good to go if everybody else is!” Kagome stretched and ran a hand back through her tangled hair a couple of times before pulling it back into a slightly messy ponytail. By this point in her life, she was highly used to the up and at ‘em mentality.

Unsurprisingly, the others were ready as well once they had all of their supplies packed up.

As it had been mentioned the night prior, it truly didn’t take all too much longer before the party was coming upon Kaede’s village. 

“Aya and I will do a bit of looking around,” Arinaga said as the group came to a halt just outside the village threshold, “It’s standard procedure whenever a yōkai has appeared to take interest in any particular area.”

“That sounds like a plan, is there anything that we can do?” Kagome asked, thus far it had felt as though she hadn’t managed to be of much use at all. While not necessarily an unfamiliar feeling, it did make her feel a bit guilty. It didn’t feel as easy to lean on these people as it was to lean on her friends.

“If you’d like, you could interview the townspeople. See if anybody has seen or heard anything unusual over the last few days.” 

And thus began a rather quick interview process.

Most of the villagers only commented about Kagome’s unusual and sudden arrival to the village, no one had noticed a single thing about a yōkai.

None of this came as a shock to Kagome, Naraku had been there for no more than a few minutes. Frankly, she was more surprised that Naomi had even noticed something amiss as a result of his presence. The young sapphire-haired miko appeared to have quite a bit of potential herself, a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder if there was any relation to Kikyō at some point down the line. 

When everybody met back up some time later, it appeared as though nothing had been found. 

“We should move towards the area where Kagome-san had seen him now right?” Naomi asked, drawing a nod from both of the taijiya. 

Kagome led the group out of the village and up the hill, when the well came into view she couldn’t help but begin to feel a little bit anxious despite knowing for a fact that Naraku was nowhere near there any longer. 

“There are traces of a powerful presence left behind here,” Aya hummed as she peered down into the well, her finger touching her chin as she did so. “The well itself seems to be fairly ordinary, I wonder what a yōkai would have been doing lurking around in a place like this.” She looked towards the direction of the village and a small frown found itself upon her painted lips, “There wasn’t anything of great significance within the village either.” 

Awkwardly, Kagome shifted from one foot to the other as she stared at the well. It certainly was lacking that touch of magic that it always gave off whenever it was capable of transporting her through a multitude of years. It truly did seem like an ordinary well, much to her chagrin. Despite herself, she’d been hoping that the well would have had some time to fix itself while she’d been gone.

“It is possible he was displaced as a result of a conflict,” Arinaga commented as he looked to Kagome, “How was it that you said you encountered this yōkai? I believe it has been mentioned that you aren’t from this area either, were you tracking Naraku on your own before?”

Swallowing nervously in response to the rather pointed questions, Kagome fumbled over herself as she struggled to come up with something reasonable to say. 

What even _could_ she say? 

‘Yes, I was actually with him when he got here. We traveled through time with the help of that ordinary well there.’

That certainly wouldn’t fly. 

The only reason it had been something she could admit to Kaede and Inuyasha initially, was because of her resemblance to the dead Kikyō and the fact that the Shikon no Tama had been found within her body. 

There was that, and the fact that she could still use the well at that time. It was likely even Kaede had a bit of doubt before witnessing Kagome’s comings and goings. It wasn’t as though she could demonstrate the well’s power as it was now for these people.

“Kagome-san, I feel as though there is something that you aren’t telling us.” Naomi offered as the silence stretched a little bit longer than it probably should have to a question like the one that had been asked, “We are here to help, I am certain you understand that.” When Kagome nodded and continued to avoid the miko’s eyes, Naomi persisted. “So please also understand that the longer you withhold any information from us, the more difficult it will make actually locating Naraku.” There was a pause, before a slightly more reluctant inquiry, “Does any of this have to do with the odd power that I can feel radiating off of you?” 

Instinctively, Kagome’s hand moved to the back of her neck where she could feel the place where the jewel shard had been forced on her. 

“Masanori-kun and myself have been traveling together a fairly long time now, and we never have had so many yōkai encounters within such a short span of time.” When the tall man was nodding his agreement, Kagome sighed softly as her hands clasped together in front of her. “I had hoped you would open up a bit more on the matter, although it seems to be a topic that causes torment within your soul. I am sorry to bring it up like this, though we need to know what is going on Kagome-san.” 

“Of course you do.” Kagome moved towards the well, “I’m sorry, I know you’re right. The position I’ve found myself in is a bit…odd, even for me. And believe me when I say that I’ve had many oddities in my life.” An understatement, “I know I’ve expressed that Naraku has done a lot to mess with my life in addition to others, although what he’s done most recently takes the cake when it comes down to the sheer number of lives that can be affected.” 

With the weight of the bow and quiver upon her back, she reminded herself that at the very least…if these people chose to abandon her after this little announcement, she would hopefully be okay for a little while. Until she had the chance to properly sit down and think about the situation and attempt to formulate a plan, she’d sort of jumped into this group half cocked and she should have known better than to let herself make the decision to join these strangers while she was mentally and physically so weakened by what had happened. 

“As you may recall my clothing, it was a bit weird right?” Naomi and Masanori both nodded their heads and Kagome continued, “Well, the reason for that is pretty simple. I’m not actually from this era, I have come from the future. This well used to allow me to travel back and forth between two different times, it isn’t something I discovered until I was fifteen…” Kagome trailed off as she realized that she was becoming a bit sidetracked, it wasn’t as though they needed to know her full history with this unbelievable power. 

“Anyway—” Kagome cleared her throat and leaned against the well, folding her arms across her chest as she looked up at the sky. “Naraku must have found out about the well’s power and came up with the plan to use both it and myself to get transported here with the aid of a dark miko. I’m one-hundred percent sure on exact dates but…” Finally, Kagome looked at Naomi whose face had become somewhat unreadable as she listened. “Do you know a miko by the name of Midoriko, Naomi?”

Masanori tensed slightly as Naomi’s eyes widened.

“I do, Midoriko-sama is the most powerful miko to be trained within our temple.”

“Naomi-sama,” Masanori started, “I am unsure it is wise to speak of such things when we are among outsiders.”

“Midoriko-sama has been missing for three years Masanori-kun,” Naomi replied, “I don’t think it hurts to simply talk about her.” When she was looking at Kagome again, she had slightly furrowed eyebrows. “She was next in line to become our shrine’s head miko. Since she has gone missing though…”

“That role falls to you then?” Kagome asked, to which Naomi nodded her head. 

“You claim to be from the future, something which should have been mentioned immediately in my humble opinion.” Masanori took a few steps forward, positioning himself to be the one closest to Kagome in that moment. “You speak of a miko that has been lost to us for years…what else is there that you are keeping from us?” 

“Masanori-kun…” Naomi began, taking a few steps forward as well. She placed a hand upon his arm. 

“No, Naomi-sama. I have a right to ask these questions. We have put our own goals and ambitions on pause in order to assist this strange miko, we deserve to know everything.”

“You do, and I’m so sorry for not saying anything sooner…I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. It's obviously a pretty weird thing to start talking about when you first meet someone. I know I would have a hard time believing something like this myself if I wasn’t directly involved.”

It suddenly felt so hot. 

Beginning to roll up her sleeves, Kagome continued. “The reason that we have had so many yōkai encounters is because the dark miko put a shard of the enchanted item Naraku carries within my neck. It is an item so powerful that yōkai and ningen alike have been known to spill blood for it. I am still not sure why she did that in the first place, she mentioned something about how Naraku and I were bound. So I can only assume it had to be done in order to make it possible for Naraku to travel through time as well.”

There was silence from all of the others when Kagome finally stopped talking. 

“Well, I for one couldn’t care less whether or not what she says is the truth regarding ‘time travel’.” Arinaga started with a slight hand wave, “The evidence that there is a powerful yōkai running around in this area is too great to ignore. Hanyō or otherwise, it mustn't be ignored.”

“I’m with you there, brother.” Aya replied with a nod of her head, “While time travel itself seems to be a bit of a stretch, I want to believe what you are saying Kagome-chan. You seem like a good person, and I don’t say that about just anyone.” 

“We are going to have to leave this to you then, taijiya.” Masanori calmly stated.

“Masanori!” Naomi’s voice raised in volume, “No, we can’t just abandon Kagome—” 

“Our orders are to protect you.” Masanori replied firmly, “I wished to go along with your good intentions, however it has become clear to me that doing so would most certainly put you in harm's way.”

Naomi appeared as though she was about to protest further when Kagome piped up, “S’okay, I understand! Please don’t argue. I appreciate all that you have done for me up until now.” While it would’ve been good to have Naomi, Masanori, and Seiya in her corner…she didn’t want to be the cause of any upset among friends.

“While we will not be joining you on this hunt, please feel free to stop by the Daitan-zukuri shrine for the purpose of collecting payment once you have successfully eliminated Naraku.” Masanori’s eyes were on Aya and Arinaga as he spoke before he looked to Kagome with an expression that was just slightly softer than it had been moments prior. He almost appeared to be somewhat regretful. 

“I apologize that we cannot be of more service to you, it isn’t anything personal Kagome-sama. I simply must honor my duty to Naomi-sama before anything or anyone else.” He bowed his head, and once he was straightened once more his expression had settled back into that of calm determination as he regarded Naomi who looked remarkably displeased. “Whenever you are ready, we can take our leave.” He then turned, and moved to speak quietly with Seiya who occasionally would nod his head in agreement. 

Naomi sighed and turned to Kagome. 

“Seriously, it’s okay.” Kagome tried to reassure the other miko with as genuine a smile as she could manage in that moment, “Please don’t worry about it even a little, I’m sure that with Aya and Arinaga that everything will turn out just fine in the end.” The words felt hollow, although she did her best to fill them with as much sincerity as possible.

“Please stay safe, Kagome-san. I may not know much of who you are or where you are from, but…I have a bad feeling.” She placed a hand over her heart, “You will be in my thoughts until we meet again.”

Something about Naomi’s words caused her heart to flip, but Kagome only nodded while maintaining the smile. “Thank you Naomi, you stay safe out there as well okay?”

As she hadn’t been expecting a farewell so soon, it was a bit sad watching the three as they walked down the hillside. 

“You must remain honest with us from this point forward if you wish to maintain our assistance.” Arinaga spoke with a frown, it was apparent that she had lost brownie points with him. And judging by the look on Aya’s face, Kagome wasn’t necessarily winning with her either. 

“Absolutely. There is one other thing that I can say about this enchanted object,” Kagome rubbed the back of her neck, “I have the ability to sense where the other piece is. Right now it is very faint, but I can tell that currently…Naraku is somewhere in the west.”

Aya’s eyebrows rose, “That's convenient.” 

“Indeed.” Arinaga spared Kagome one final glance before he turned and began to head in the very direction that she had mentioned, “Let's get going, we don’t want to waste an ounce of daylight if we want to complete this job in a timely manner.”

The walking was a bit more on the awkward side without Naomi there. The taijiya didn’t appear to be quite as keen on starting up idle chit-chat as the former miko had been. Which was fine, she supposed that it was for the better that she didn’t get too attached to anyone within this time. Especially since there was no telling how long she’d be sticking around, her goal was to get back home after all. 

Home or back to Inuyasha’s time. Either or, Kagome wasn’t feeling particularly picky in that regard. All that mattered was that she was returned to somewhere familiar. 

The miko was shaken from her thoughts rather unexpectedly as she walked right into the back of Aya, who had apparently paused mid-step. 

“Wha—”

“Shh!” Aya ordered and Kagome complied without another word, straining her ears to try and hear whatever it was that had alerted the taijiya. Even Kirara’s fur was all fluffed up from where she was perched on Arinaga’s shoulder.

Kagome couldn’t hear a single thing. 

“It must be a daiyōkai.” Aya whispered, slowly moving into a more battle-ready position.

“Agreed, the entire forest has quieted yet I cannot sense what has caused the disruption.” Arinaga replied just as quietly.

“Perhaps if you held your breath, it’ll be easier to hear him.” 

The deep voice from right beside Kagome’s ear caused chills to run down her spine as she nearly jumped out of her skin. 

Both Aya and Arinaga spun on their heels to face the potential threat. 

Directly behind Kagome was a yōkai. One that had a lazy smirk upon his lips as he placed a hand upon Kagome’s left shoulder, pulling the miko closer to his person. His claws were razor sharp and presented a silent threat.

The yōkai’s wings were an ashen black whereas the bulbous horns that protruded from his head were as black as a night sky without stars or moon.

“Ah-ah, don’t even think about it.” The man’s grip on Kagome’s shoulder tightened, drawing a yelp of pain from the miko as Arinaga was beginning to unsheathe his nagamaki. Crimson rapidly began to blossom from the five points in which she’d been stabbed by those tiny little knives the yōkai had upon the tip of each blackened finger. 

Beads of sweat prickled the brows of both the siblings as they seemed to be at something of a loss. 

Kagome couldn’t blame them. 

As this was far from the first time she’d been in a position like this one, so as a result...Kagome had a strong feeling as to what was coming. 

“Remember, Naraku is in the West!” She shouted, seemingly taking both the taijiya and the yōkai by surprise, “You have to kill him right away!” 

“A loud one though.” The yōkai grimaced before sweeping her off of her feet with an ease that only could be demonstrated by something not quite ningen. “A perfect offering for a ‘friend’ with sensitive ears.” 

Then, they were soaring through the air. 

And Kagome, once more, was the victim of a kidnapping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Not to sound like a broken record, but reviews are very important to me...as it stands now, I am officially at 4 chapters and with almost as many weeks with zero comments on this work here. It is a little bit discouraging. 
> 
> **Key:**
> 
> **Ningen** \- Human


	5. Higanbana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy, please see the note at the end of the chapter for an important ‘announcement’ of sorts.

The second thing Kagome was painfully made aware of upon returning to consciousness was the freezing, and uneven floor where she must have been dumped once arriving wherever that yōkai’s destination had been. She didn’t even remember when she had fallen asleep, had the yōkai lost his patience with her yelling as they’d flown through the sky?

That was quite likely the case.

The first thing that had pulled her from her dreamless slumber, was the conversation that had begun a short distance from where she lay.

“Azuma…”

“Yes Gai?”

“…Why?”

Standing up, Kagome glared daggers at the two yōkai, committing their names to memory with ease.

“Well surely you’ve heard the rumors pertaining to the lords of the West and their…peculiar preferences.” Azuma gestured loosely to Kagome and her eye twitched as a result, “They have soft spots for ningen, particularly ningen women. I don’t see it myself, but she was the best looking one between the two I found.”

“Azuma. She is a miko.” 

“I figured the man may enjoy something of a challenge. She’s got quite the mouth on her, and an irritatingly impressive lung capacity to boot.”

“You truly are planning on offering up this woman tonight?” Gai asked, his tone somewhat defeated by that point in the short-lived conversation. 

“Most certainly, I decided she’d be an acceptable bargaining chip for what I’m after.”

“If that is the case, I suggest having her brought up and seen to. She reeks and would benefit from a bath and a re-dressing, it also appears as though you have damaged the goods.” Gai leaned closer to the bars, peering at Kagome through the gaps. “Shall I send for Seijaku, and perhaps Shion? A healer and seamster would benefit us here I would say.”

Azuma waved dismissively, already turning to head towards the stairs. “Do whatever you think is best for a smooth social gathering this evening Gai, I am returning to my chambers for now.” He paused once he reached the steps and turned his head slightly, “Send Seijaku once she has finished with the ningen.”

Once Azuma was gone, Gai began to fumble with the lock on the cell door. When the door was opened, Kagome immediately began to inch backward.

“Don’t be difficult,” the yōkai almost sounded tired, “You’re more likely to hurt yourself than to hurt me with the conversion necklace in place.”

“Eh?” Kagome blinked and looked down at herself, for the first time realizing that she had a clear teardrop shaped pendant around her neck that hung down to just above her chest. The chain was a silver metal of sorts. “What the—” immediately she grabbed it and began to tug. 

“It’s enchanted, only the yōkai that placed it on you has the power to remove it. Any spiritual energy you try and expend will be redirected as a shock to you, so I wouldn’t try it if I were in your position.”

Kagome scoffed, “You expect me to believe that yōkai would just so happen to have such an item laying around? I think you’re bluffing.” 

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Gai sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “I can’t kill you, but I have no qualms against hurting you. We have a highly skilled healer on hand, so causing you harm is at the bottom of my list of concerns.”

A chill ran down her spine and she knew that he meant it. 

Of course he did. He was a yōkai.

Resisting the urge to try and purify him, Kagome begrudgingly began to follow his lead. He led her up the same stairs that Azuma had traversed mere minutes before. And soon…it became apparent that while the cell she’d been in was rather dingy, the rest of the estate was much the opposite. She had seen a number of noble homes over the years of spending her time in the feudal era, although none of them could hold a candle to the building that she was strolling through right that minute. 

The young miko was beginning to get the impression that she was walking through a castle when Gai stopped, gesturing for her to do so as well. “Seijaku!” Kagome stared up at the tall man for a moment, for the first time taking in his appearance now that they were in a better lit area. He had short blond hair and half-lidded piercing emerald green eyes. Below his lip and a bit to the right was what could only be described as a beauty mark, he was actually quite good looking much to the young woman’s chagrin. 

“Y-yes Gai-sama? Can I help you with s-something?” A very meek voice pulled Kagome’s attention from the handsome yōkai to a very tiny young woman, one that appeared to be shorter than Kagome by several inches. It rapidly became apparent that she too was a yōkai judging by the little horns of water that jutted out from her forehead. Her hair was snow white and fell to well below her waist in slightly messy waves. The outfit she donned wasn’t extravagant enough to belong to a princess, although it was clear that she wasn’t clad in the same garb that she’d seen a few passing servants wearing. She appeared to have been on her way to do some laundry or something along those lines if the basket filled with clothing she carried was anything to go off of.

“I need you to see to this ningen’s injuries, if you could also bathe her that would be appreciated.” He pushed Kagome towards Seijaku, who flinched in response to the orders as she regarded the miko with uncertainty. 

“Azuma needs this done. Have you seen Shion anywhere? The girl is in need of a more…appropriate outfit for her role tonight.” Gai’s lips turned down into a slight frown as his eyes were once more on Kagome, “Azuma intends on gifting her to the guests this evening, so she must be in pristine condition.”

“I-I know where Shion-san is,” Seijaku confirmed with a nod as her averted gaze moved down to her feet and her head bowed forward a bit, “I c-can take care of things from here Gai-sama.”

“Great, I’m growing more and more exhausted just thinking about all of this.” As if to reinforce his statement, the man yawned. “I’m going to see to a few other matters. Once you’ve finished with tending to her injuries and bathing her, Azuma has requested your company. Make sure someone else is around before you go though, while she is unable to use her power I am sure the little gift has begun scheming and thinking of ways to escape.”

At the mention of the apparent lord of the castle’s request, Seijaku’s cheeks warmed in a somewhat telling manner.

“R-right, of course Gai-sama.”

“The room I’ll have a few guards stationed at for her will be in the east wing on the third floor. By the time you’re finished with everything the guards will already be in position so you should be easily enough be able to determine which room is for her. Share the information with Shion as I’m sure he’ll be the one to bring her there.” Then, without another word, Gai left the two alone. 

“O-okay…follow me. I’ll t-take you to the ofuro.” 

While she certainly didn’t want to follow the little yōkai, Kagome knew that she didn’t have much of a choice. Despite her stature, Kagome was certain that Seijaku would easily be able to overpower her if she were to try anything. She’d learned the hard way that even the tiniest of yōkai were capable of causing serious damage.

A sigh escaped her lips as she began to trail after Seijaku. They walked for several minutes before they came to a sliding door, Seijaku pulled the door open and wordlessly urged Kagome to enter with a slight wave of her clawed hand. Kagome complied, and entered a large room that had multiple tubs filled with water. Judging by the size and number of tubs, Kagome could only assume that this was where all of the servants would bathe. Off to the side was a large pool of steamy water, a couple of buckets, and a few stools.

Having followed Kagome into the room, Seijaku closed the door and regarded her from a distance. “P-please undress now, we must cleanse your body thoroughly before you may enter a tub.”

Doing as she was instructed, Kagome began the process of removing her clothing. She winced, hissing through her gritted teeth as she peeled the kosode away from her bloodied shoulder. The five points in which Azuma’s claws had pierced her flesh were dark and appeared as though they were already infected by what she could only assume was some kind of poison from the yōkai’s claws. Now that the adrenaline of having been kidnapped was fading, she could feel the pain a lot easier. It was intense, she wouldn’t be surprised if there were traces of poison within her blood stream now considering the blackening of the skin surrounding the wounds. 

“I-I see…come and s-sit. I will heal you.” Seijaku said once Kagome had finished removing all of her clothing. She then began moving towards where Kagome had noticed the stools earlier and she did as she was told, Sitting down, she watched Seijaku as the yōkai rolled up her sleeves a little. “If you c-can relax, you shouldn’t feel much pain.” 

An impossible request considering the circumstances, although Kagome did take a deep breath and attempted to lessen the tenseness of her muscles. 

“Good.” Seijaku then cupped her hands together just below her chin and did something that drew a gasp of surprise from the miko.

The yōkai began to cry.

Abnormally large tears fell down Seijaku’s pale cheeks and into her cupped hands as she leaned her head forward slightly.

At first, Kagome was confused. Although it quickly became apparent that these tears were not ordinary as they pooled within Seijaku’s hands, and once full…like a faucet, the yōkai stopped crying and her deep blue eyes were turned on to Kagome’s nasty injury. 

Moving closer, Seijaku pushed her hands toward Kagome and the liquid enveloped Kagome’s shoulder completely. The miko watched as best as she could given the odd angle, bearing witness as Seijaku simultaneously drew the toxins out and healed up the injuries. 

Kagome’s bare shoulder was in pristine condition within minutes. 

When Seijaku’s hands moved away, Kagome couldn’t help but prod the area with her hand. Not even a scar was left behind, and the puncture wounds hadn’t exactly been shallow. 

“How d-does it feel?” The white-haired woman asked and Kagome couldn’t help but grin. 

“It feels as good as new! Possibly even better than it had been before the injury in the first place, that is an incredible ability that you have Seijaku-chan!” 

Blinking several times, quite obviously taken aback by the friendliness, Seijaku’s cheeks pinkened. “Th-thank you…um…” She seemed at a loss on what to say next before her eyes found the pool of water beside them, “Now, I can prepare you for the bath.” When Kagome nodded her head, Seijaku made a few hand movements and the steamy water beside them began to move. It was soon enveloping Kagome, it felt…odd to suddenly be entirely surrounded by water…where there hadn’t previously been water. Seijaku controlled the movement of the water around her and once she was finished, she discarded the water near the closest drain.

“Now, you m-may bathe.” Seijaku gestured to the nearest wooden tub. 

“Thank you, I know you were told to do these things…but I do feel a lot better now, and I am very appreciative.” 

Seijaku was silent for a long moment as she stared at her feet and began to fidget a little, “…Wh-what is your name?” She asked quietly, almost to the point where Kagome couldn’t even hear her. 

“My name is Kagome.” Kagome smiled.

“O-okay, Kagome-san…I will be right outside.” The miko nodded, and the yōkai left the room. 

Standing from where she had been sitting, Kagome moved towards one of the tubs. It appeared as though all of them contained hot, steamy water. She walked around until she found one that appeared to have been used the least often before she settled in and closed her eyes. 

For the first time, she was allowed to really think about the position that she was in now; and it was far from ideal. 

The western lords huh? Kagome knew well enough that it was the dog yōkai who reigned in the western region of Japan, and she also knew that Inuyasha’s father certainly had a weakness for ningen women. Inuyasha’s existence proved that much.

Did that mean that she would be meeting the Inu no Taisho himself? Kagome had certainly traveled far enough back in time for that to be a very real possibility. Would Sesshōmaru be around as well? There was no way for her to know exactly how old he was. Despite the fear that wanted to worm it’s way through her at the prospect of seeing Sesshōmaru, Kagome couldn’t prevent a small bubble of hope from building up as well. Sesshōmaru was an enemy, that went without saying. However…he was also a familiar face. And better yet, an enemy of Naraku. 

Perhaps, somehow, she could work all of this to her favor. 

If the Inu no Taisho was an ally of ningen, perhaps she could convince him to look into the destruction of Naraku. Last she’d been aware, Naraku was in the West after all. And knowing him, he was already doing damage and what he did best; scheming. Surely it would benefit a lord of such a large region to rid himself of a pest like Naraku. 

However…Kagome couldn’t forget the very real possibility that the hanyō was already attempting to gain favor with the western lord. That seemed so much like something the slimy bastard would do, especially once he realized that he was lacking in pawns now.

Sighing, Kagome sunk further into the tub, allowing herself to be fully submerged in the water. 

No matter how she looked at it, she was going to be in something of a bind. Especially with the conversion necklace that was around her neck. It’s weight, while not a lot, was something she was struggling with getting used to. It was frustrating and somewhat humiliating to have what was essentially a shock collar. 

As powerless as she felt in that moment, she was doing her best to maintain optimism.

Overall, since Seijaku had worked her magic…Kagome had begun to feel a lot better. Part of her knew that it was a false sense of security but—

Sharp pain in her scalp easily cut the miko’s train of thought as her head was being yanked out of the water. 

“Sh-Shion-san, please be careful—”

“Were you trying to kill yourself ningen?” A level voice demanded and Kagome’s azure eyes met with silver and green heterochromatic ones.

“N-no…” Kagome’s hands moved to her hair instinctively. “I was just—”

“Likely story. Get out. I don’t have a lot of time to put together an outfit for you.”

“Okay jeez! Please let me go!” 

Shion frowned before releasing his hold on Kagome, and the miko ran her fingers back through her hair, checking for any new injuries that she may have sustained. Though when she found that her scalp was just a bit on the sore side, she sighed in relief.

“Here, I have a t-towel and yukata for you Kagome-san.” Seijaku offered the materials as Kagome was hesitatingly stepping out of the tub. The dark-haired woman was happy to accept the items as she was beginning to feel a bit too exposed for her own comfort with the additional yōkai present.

“Wow, thank you so much Seijaku-chan!” 

Shion scoffed.

“I can handle her from here Seijaku-sama, you may go to Azuma-sama now.”

The white-haired yōkai, who had been sheepishly fidgeting once more in response to Kagome’s gratitude stilled, blinked, and then nodded her head, “Okay. But p-please don’t be too rough Sh-Shion-san, the ningen is very weak and injury p-prone.”

While Seijaku’s words sounded as though they were genuinely touched with concern for the well being of the miko, Kagome couldn’t help but feel a small pang at essentially being called a wimp. Although, it wasn’t as if she could really deny such a statement in her current position.

“I understand.” Shion replied easily and Seijaku bowed her head to them before turning and hurrying off through the still open door. Kagome used the towel to quickly pat herself dry before she was pulling on the white yukata that had been an unexpected, yet extremely welcome, comfort.

“Your old clothing will be burned.” Shion stated, noticing when Kagome glanced back in the direction that the miko garb had been discarded. “You will not need such things where you are going.”

Sending Naomi a silent apology, Kagome nodded her head and followed the blond haired yōkai. Likely, they were headed towards the room that Gai had mentioned previously. It was only another several minutes and a few sets of stairs climbed before they began to walk down a slightly more well-lit hallway than the ones they’d been walking through previously. As Gai had said, it was easy to pinpoint which room was intended for the miko. Two guards stood on either side of a closed door. 

Upon the arrival of Shion and Kagome, the guards tensed.

“Shion-san, the items you need for your work have been sent for and should be arriving shortly.” One of the armored men spoke. 

“Good.” 

“Azuma-sama has ordered that the ningen be ready before the guests arrive, a few others have been summoned to assist you.”

“I see, anything else?” 

The guard swallowed before uttering a quiet ‘no’, Shion nodded his head and pulled the door open so that he could none-too-lightly shove Kagome through the already lit room’s threshold. 

Stumbling in, Kagome bit back the urge to complain about the treatment and instead chose to look around. 

It was several steps up from the cell that she had awoken in just an hour or so prior to that moment. The room was large with a few expensive looking pieces of furniture, in addition to a few pieces of beautiful art that were hung on the wall.

“So—” Kagome began.

“Do not speak.” Shion was quick to interrupt, “Your voice is grating on my ears.”

Kagome’s cheeks reddened as a flare of irritation swelled within her breast.

“Once I have my tools, I’ll be able to get started. Your size is similar to that of someone else I know, this task will not be difficult. Merely cumbersome, there are other things that I’d prefer to be doing with my time rather than putting an outfit together for a ningen.”

The silence that followed seemed to stretch on forever as Kagome chose to admire the tonsu’s woodwork. She was impressed by the sheer amount of effort that appeared to have gone into it, she entertained herself by thinking up a story to go along with the little illustrations. She almost didn’t hear the quiet knock on the door before it was being pulled open and several people were suddenly entering the room. 

All of the new arrivals appeared to be servants based on their basic clothing and hairstyles, they all seemed reluctant to approach Kagome.

“What are you doing?” Shion demanded from the other side of the room when he noticed that no one was moving, Kagome turned her head a bit to look and see what the fuss was about. “I highly doubt you’re all here to gawk at her, get to work.”

And so, they did while Shion appeared to get to work on his task now that his tools and necessarily materials had come.

Kagome was urged to sit down so that the yōkai could get to work on her hair. It was a painful process, and it was obvious that they didn’t care if their efforts in taming her unruly locks of still damp raven hair caused her pain. Though once they were finished brushing and styling her hair, Kagome was allowed a glimpse in a mirror. She was surprised by how nice it looked in an updo that she had never seen before, they had left tendrils of hair to frame her face while the rest of her hair was pulled into a high ponytail that consisted of her hair having been woven into it in a very specific, and complicated looking way. 

She was impressed, although dreaded the moment she would have to take it down. 

“I like it.” Kagome said with a smile as the yōkai that had been holding the mirror pulled it away, “Good job you guys.” 

The servants didn’t appear to know how to respond, so instead they moved onto the next task that they had been given. 

Her makeup.

The minutes had rolled into hours with ease through the whole process and before Kagome knew it, Shion was presenting her with a beautiful blue kimono that had gold trim and a higanbana flower pattern.

Fitting for the occasion, Kagome supposed. Although truly, she was very impressed with the precise and detailed handiwork.

“This looks amazing, Shion-san.”

“Of course it does. Now put it on, our guests are going to be here soon if they haven’t already arrived.” He then roughly pushed the kimono into Kagome’s hands and folded his arms across his chest. 

“R-right uh…” Kagome’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she turned around and began to do as she was told, taking care to not mess up her makeup or hair in the process. She requested help with the obi once she got there, something which Shion reluctantly assisted her with. 

“There. Let’s go.” 

Swallowing nervously, Kagome nodded her head to the servants as a final form of appreciation before she began to follow Shion once more.

Each step sent a pang of unease into Kagome’s stomach. 

“Ah, perfect timing!” Azuma’s voice preceded his actual appearance within Kagome’s line of sight as it appeared he’d been able to tell it was them who had been about to round the corner. His previously somewhat unruly dark hair was now slicked back and both of his hands were tucked into his sleeves. “Our guests are being seated now, naturally I decided that we would be entering last. We must leave as much of an impression as possible with you my dear, and let me say…it’s impressive what a little bit of polish can do.” His yellow eyes moved up and down Kagome’s frame before he nodded in approval.

Kagome glared at him and he laughed.

“Azuma-sama…they are ready.” A meek voice spoke, and Kagome instantly recognized Seijaku who had just joined them. She too appeared to have changed into slightly nicer clothing. 

“Fantastic! We can not allow them to wait any longer. Follow along ningen, you are to enter when I say the word ‘gift’ do you understand?” When Kagome confirmed that she understood, Azuma turned and walked through a door that was ajar, Seijaku at his side. 

“Good evening, thank you for joining me here tonight.” Azuma’s voice was easy enough to hear from where Kagome had been left standing.

Looking down at her slightly shaking hands, Kagome wondered for a short moment if she could attempt to escape right then. A quick look around told her that there wasn’t anybody around right then to stop her. Shion had left the moment Azuma had come into view. Her only issue was that she was certain that she’d get lost if she were to try and run. Something that would most certainly end in her getting caught, and likely her role would change as well. While she wasn’t necessarily happy with her position, she knew for a fact that things very well could be worse. Much worse.

“As a special ‘thank you’ for your time, I have prepared a gift for you to use as you’d like.”

This was it. 

Kagome’s feet were taking the steps forward even while she wanted to run the opposite direction. She entered the dining room and for a brief moment was blinded by the much brighter lighting than the rest of the hall had been.

There was a large table, one that could easily seat upwards of twenty. Although there were only five seated at present, Azuma at one end with Seijaku adjacent from him…and three men at the other. All of which had long silver colored hair. 

Sesshōmaru’s golden gaze was upon her and despite the many layers in which she now donned…she felt more naked than she had been in the bath. 

There was something much different about those eyes from the ones that she had looked into only a few times in the future. Something missing. It only took a few moments for her to realize that it was a lack of contempt, in its place was something that almost could be called intrigue as he took her appearance in. 

He did look a bit younger, his hair was shorter than both of the men that he was with. While he wore it up in a high ponytail right then, she had a feeling that if he were to let it down it would barely brush past his shoulders. If she had to guess, she’d say that he looked only a year or so younger than he appeared in the time that she had first met him. Yōkai aging was nothing to sneeze at. 

“Kagome, meet the lord of the western lands. Hisato-sama there in the middle, with Tōga at his left…and Tōga’s son Sesshōmaru at his right.” 

Blinking, Kagome ran the words through her head a second time before her attention settled on the male at the very end of the table.

Just who the hell was Hisato?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to leave a comment! I'd love to hear what you guys think. We've finally gotten to Sesshōmaru! It took a bit of time and effort to weave him naturally into the story, I am so impressed with anyone who is capable of doing this because it was not easy, but we're here! Now, It would be remiss of me to fail to announce that I am beginning to lose motivation/inspiration for this story so I may have to drop from a chapter a week to a chapter every two weeks. 
> 
> I certainly intend on finishing this story, but I wanted to make sure you all were aware of my current situation where inspiration is involved. 
> 
> **Key** :
> 
>  **Ofuro** \- Japanese bath and/or bathroom
> 
>  **Inu no Taisho** \- Great dog general
> 
>  **Yukata** \- An unlined cotton summer kimono, worn in casual settings such as summer festivals and to nearby bathhouses. Originally worn as bathrobes, their modern use is much broader, and are a common sight in Japan during summer.
> 
>  **Tonsu** \- The traditional mobile storage cabinetry indigenous to Japan.
> 
>  **Higanbana** \- also known as ‘red spider lily’, they are bright red summer flowers native throughout Asia. They are associated with final goodbyes, and legend has it that these flowers grow wherever people part ways for good.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review if you enjoy what you've read, I find they are quite motivating! I always love to see what my readers are thinking about as they read one of my stories.
> 
>  **Key** :
> 
>  **Miko** \- Priestess
> 
>  **Yōkai** \- Demon
> 
>  **Daiyōkai** \- Essentially a demon lord, Sesshōmaru would be considered a daiyōkai. The literal translation is 'great demon'.
> 
>  **Taijiya** \- Demon Slayer
> 
>  **Hanyō** \- Half Demon
> 
>  **Shikon no Tama** \- Shikon Jewel (I'm sure most would already know this one, but just in case!)
> 
>  **San** \- is the most common honorific title. San is similar to "Mr", "Ms.", "Mrs", and so on.
> 
>  **Chan** \- is a form of san used to refer to children and female family members, close friends and lovers.
> 
>  **Kun** \- is informal and mostly used for males, such as boys or juniors at work. It is used by superiors to inferiors, by males of the same age and status to each other, and in addressing male children.


End file.
